Splendor in the Grass

film by Kazan [1961]

Also known as: “Splendour in the Grass”

Written by Lee Pfeiffer

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Article History

Splendor in the Grass, American film drama, released in 1961, that examines repressed love and the sexual frustrations of a teenage couple.

Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty, in his first screen role, play high school lovers Deanie and Bud in a small Kansas town in the 1920s. They struggle to stay together despite the constant intrusions and objections of their parents, but their lives take some harsh turns, including Deanie’s suicide attempt and institutionalization.

Splendor in the Grass refuses to provide the kind of contrived, happy ending that one might expect, and its sobering story line creates a number of dramatic sequences for its talented young leads. Wood was especially noted for the great depth and fragility of her performance. The film, which was directed by Elia Kazan, also marked the screen debuts of Sandy Dennis and Phyllis Diller. The title of the movie is from a line in the poem “Ode: Intimations of Immortality” by William Wordsworth.